Using Windows 7 I have a server with shared folders set up. If I open one of them and take a file and move it to a subfolder it's instant - the file is obviously only being moved on the server. The same for two windows having the same shared folder open.

If I on the other hand open another shared folder on the same server and move a file between them it takes very long time - like it's downloading the file from the first share to my computer in a temp folder and then uploading it to the other share.

Is there some way to move files between different shares like this without my computer downloading them in between? I want some speed because it's often quite large files.

is this all happening on the same machine, or on two different computers running windows 7? It sounds like this is happening on the same machine, but if so - why would you be connecting to file shares located on the machine you are logged into when you could access the files locally?
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Richie086Nov 8 '12 at 19:16

2 Answers
2

When you say, “another shared folder”, do you mean “a folder in a different file share (i.e., a different mapped drive)”? If so, that’s the issue, and there is no easy, magic fix. When you move a file from one folder to another on the same volume, all that needs to happen is for the operating system to write a new directory entry in the destination folder and erase the old directory entry in the source folder — the file data doesn’t need to be accessed. When you copy a file, the OS must read each data block and write it in a new location. And a move between volumes might as well be a move between physically separate disks — it must be treated as a copy followed by a delete of the source file — because directory entries cannot point to data blocks on a different volume.

P.S. Ironically, a move between physically separate disks might even be faster than a move between partitions (volumes or “shares”) on the same disk, because in the latter case the disk I/O heads need to jump back and forth between the source cylinder(s) and the destination cylinder(s).

I've been thinking of creating a big share with subfolders instead but that messes up the user access etc. I'd rather find some solution that can be applied to what I already have. Doing it from the server is unfortunately not an option.
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olofomNov 8 '12 at 19:26

Creating a share above both other shares shouldn't hurt user permissions, especially if you have full access to both shares. If, however, you're talking about a NAS box such as my LinkSys with very limited functionality, that might be a different story.
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danielNov 12 '12 at 18:47

Yes, unfortunately it's some kind of Synology NAS solution where users get access to a shared folder and not subfolders in the tree...
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olofomNov 14 '12 at 23:32